Jamie Hyneman

Hailing from Indiana farm country, keynote speaker Jamie Hyneman is a multifaceted man: wilderness survival expert, boat captain, diver, linguist, animal wrangler, machinist and chef, to name a few. His career has been equally diverse: Jamie earned a degree in Russian languages and literature and ran a sailing/diving charter business in the Caribbean for several years before he moved over to the visual-effects industry.

Once he had joined that field and had worked for several production companies, Jamie found his way to Colossal Pictures’ model shop, where he managed the production of models and special effects for hundreds of commercials and movies. Then, eight years ago, Jamie took over the shop and created M5 Industries Inc.

Today, the top U.S. production companies seek out M5 Industries when unusual or problematic props need to be fabricated, especially if they involve animatronics or robotics. Jamie has worked on the Matrix sequels for Eon Productions, as well as Star Wars: Episodes I and II for Industrial Light and Magic, among others.

Speaker Jamie Hyneman has also worked on commercials for major automobile manufacturers, soft-drink companies (including 7-UP) and athletic shoe companies (including Nike). And in the midst of all this activity, Jamie has diversified his company into toy prototyping as well.

The holder of several patents and the winner of numerous industry awards Jamie is also a long-standing Screen Actors Guild member.

Innovation & Creativity